Former West Indian and New Zealand cricketer Sam Guillen has branded the promotion campaign for New Zealand's Test match against the West Indies in Dunedin a 'ridiculous idea'.

The Otago Cricket Association and Dunedin City Council used the slogan 'it's all white here' to head a press release encouraging supporters and shops to 'white-out' the city.

It mirrors a similar 'black-out' campaign, where fans wore black and shops dressed their windows with black, that was used to promote the All Blacks rugby Test against South Africa earlier this year.

But 84-year-old Guillen, who played five Tests for the West Indies then three for New Zealand after emigrating there, said the association and City Council should have a re-think as it would not be welcomed by the West Indies team who would see it as racism.

"I know exactly how the players will feel. The first thing that will go through their minds is it's white against black which should never come into sport," he told The Press newspaper.

"Whoever did it will have to go to them and say 'we didn't mean it like that', but it should never have happened."

Otago Cricket Association chief executive Ross Dykes, meanwhile, told PA Sport: "The last thing on our mind was that there could be any racial connotation at all. Clearly it has and if we have offended anybody we are sincerely sorry."

Dykes has emailed the West Indies team manager and the West Indies Cricket Board to explain the slogan and insisted 'it's all white here' would not be on posters used to advertise the game.

"Our posters will say 'Join cricket's white-out' which is much more closely related to the black-out of the rugby Test."

Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin also emphasised the reasoning behind the campaign had been based on teams playing Test cricket traditionally wearing white.

"I don't see an issue in the promotion or what we are trying to do. We are looking at it in terms of Test cricket being played in white," he said.

The Black Caps and Windies will play the Test at the University Oval between December 11 and 15.